Persons suffering from hypertension or seeking medical care routinely have their blood pressure checked. This procedure is typically performed with a sphygmomanometer, consisting, in part, of an inflatable cuff that is wrapped around the person's limb (e.g., an arm or leg). The cuff is then inflated and deflated while a gauge on the sphygmomanometer is observed to obtain the blood pressure. By acoustically monitoring the flow of blood through a selectively constricted blood vessel, the systolic and diastolic blood pressures may be obtained. This procedure is repeated each time a medical provider desires to take a person's blood pressure. The procedure may be performed manually using a stethoscope or automatically using an instrument specifically designed to automatically measure a subject's blood pressure.
Especially if seeking medical attention for an aliment, a person may have bacteria or other contaminants present on their skin in the region where the cuff is to be placed. In some cases, the subject whose blood pressure is being measured may even have some type of skin diseases, rash, an ulcer, parasitic infestation (e.g., scabies) and/or an abrasion. Such conditions can occur on many areas of the body, including a person's upper and lower limbs. As a result of these conditions, a patient having one of the aforementioned conditions may contaminate a sphygmomanometer and undesirable consequences may result when the sphygmomanometer is used in a multiple patient setting, such as a hospital, clinic, or a physician's office. In particular, if a sphygmomanometer is used on a person having contagious fluids or other contaminants exposed on their skin, those fluids or contaminants may contaminate the cuff on the sphygmomanometer. Subsequent use of the same sphygmomanometer cuff on a second person can possibly transfer such contaminates to the next person and may subsequently cause infection therein.
While protective films are known in the prior art, they are generally packaged in individual packages that require time and effort to open. The individual packaging adds cost to the protective films and requires significant effort by the doctor, nurse, or other practitioner applying the protective film to the sphygmomanometer. Packaging waste adds to the burden of waste disposal.